28 Goodby Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8NJ
Condition: The property has some exterior disrepair and an ongoing heating system leak, though the tenant has carried out various improvements (kitchen, bathroom, flooring) at her own expense.
Evidence considered
- Tenant's comparables: three local rental listings (detached 5-bed £1,800 pcm, detached 4-bed £1,500 pcm, semi-detached 3-bed £1,590 pcm) considered but only partially persuasive
- Additional Rightmove listings with no rental figures given were found to be of no practical assistance except to show falling rents in the area
- Landlord's ten comparable three- and four-bedroom detached houses analysed on a £/sq metre basis (range £12.42-£16.23 per sq m), used by the Tribunal only to confirm a general value trend, not adopted wholesale
- Tribunal also relied on its own general knowledge and expertise of local rental values
Tenant submitted evidence: yes. Landlord submitted evidence: yes.
Tribunal's reasoning
The tribunal started from an open-market rent of £2,000 pcm for the property modernised and in good order, derived from its own expert knowledge and the landlord's sq-metre-based comparables (which it treated as useful only for general trend purposes rather than directly determinative). It then deducted £505 pcm in total to reflect the property's poor condition (including a heating leak), tenant-provided carpets/curtains/white goods, tenant-funded improvements (alarm, security cameras, kitchen/bathroom upgrades, hallway flooring), and the tenant's liability to decorate, arriving at £1,495 pcm.
Read the original decision (PDF, GOV.UK)
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